Lake Martha

Lake Martha is in the middle of a beautiful trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City. This popular trail travels on the Brighton Ski Resort for about 3/4 mile until it cuts west. There is a good trail to follow as you hike in the mountain meadows and in between patches of pine trees and aspen trees. This part is where you will gain about 700 ft in elevation until you come to Lake Mary. Continue on from Lake Mary until you come to the smaller, but equally beautiful Lake Martha. Once you hike the roughly 3/4 mile you will go inside a pine forest and will probably hear a waterfall in the distance. Hike another hundred yards or so and you will come to a junction sign that points you to Dog Lake or to Lake Catherine. Take the right trail to Lake Catherine. Lake Martha is in between Lake Mary and Lake Catherine. You will cross over a small bridge. If you want to see the top of the waterfall follow the creek down a little ways and you will see it. It's very steep here so please be careful of the slippery edges. The trail will hug close to the creek and you will eventually see the dam to Lake Mary in the distance. Hike up the south side of the dam until you come to the top of it where Lake Mary will be in view. Lake Mary is the largest of the two lakes on this hike. The lake is surrounded by granite rocks and pine trees! Mt. Millicent is directly west of Lake Mary. If you look to your south west you will see Mt. Wolverine. The trail to Lake Martha continues on the east side of the lake and then skirts the southern side until you see a small creek. This creek comes from Lake Martha. Lake Martha is very close to Lake Mary so it's not too much farther! Lake Martha is the smallest of the two lakes and is below Mt. Tuscarora. Mt. Wolverine is just behind Mt. Tuscarora. If you want some better views of Lake Martha hike up the trail a little ways farther until you come to a clearing in the trees. The hike to Lake Martha is a great one! If you are looking for a great adventure up Big Cottonwood Canyon, you have found it.